In new Adelanto stadium deal, talk of subsidy recalls bitter fallout

Shea Johnson Staff Writer @DP_Shea

Sunday

Sep 2, 2018 at 8:00 AM

ADELANTO — In defense of potentially committing to $480,000 over two years for management and operations of Adelanto Stadium, Mayor Pro Tem John "Bug" Woodard recently emphasized just how important the property was to local recreation.

"When you have a city that doesn't have entertainment, you have a city that's stagnant," Woodard said during the Aug. 22 Council meeting. "If you do have residents here, they have to have something to do."

The sentiment was the undercurrent of the Council's decision to invest in two promoters, Aaron Korn and Darrel Courtney, who they lauded for their work in the six previous months to draw new events and upkeep the city-owned stadium.

Korn and Courtney had been operating on a shorter-term "prove-it" deal, receiving a monthly facilities management fee of $5,000 — a less-than-adequate payment to effectively run the property to the extent they said they were reaching into their own pockets to cover volunteer and hourly staff salaries.

But a recently adopted two-year contract renewal, providing $20,000 per month, was greeted with skepticism by Councilman Ed Camargo, who questioned whether it was too much too soon to commit from the General Fund of a city still not completely on its feet. The city may cancel at anytime, however, according to former City Attorney Ruben Duran.

Camargo said his focus was on ensuring funds weren't mismanaged and he cited a minimal profit over six months by Korn and Courtney to cast doubt on whether they had proven they could turn around the stadium's fortunes.

Dismissing Camargo's concern, Woodard noted how it was not unusual for cities to subsidize entertainment for residents, saying that the benefit was realized in attracting visitors and homebuyers who choose to live near the center of it all.

And Korn, describing the stadium as a "community asset," added that it should be treated as if it were a city park — which rarely if ever make any money — and not necessarily as a profit maker, although he pledged the ultimate goal was to at least break even.

But invoking the argument that entertainment trumps revenue can't help but to recall the city's highly publicized battle with the High Desert Mavericks' ownership, who the city accused of costing it $1.8 million in revenue over a three-and-a-half-year period.

The reported subsidy, and $1 yearly rent paid by the Mavericks from 2012 to 2016, was characterized by the city as tantamount to a "gift of public funds." It was the exact argument used to terminate the deal in early 2016; the two sides have been locked in litigation since then.

City officials drew Mavericks comparisons during the Aug. 22 meeting as well. Mayor Rich Kerr acknowledged the Korn deal was a risk, "but at least this way, we see money coming in and it isn't $1 per year."

Woodard was optimistic that Korn and Courtney were invested in the stadium's success as he drew a distinction between what they had done and watching the Mavericks and San Bernardino County Fairgrounds, which managed the stadium for a year, instead "screw up" operations.

But Camargo emphasized that the Mavericks' deal had also shifted about $80,000 worth of maintenance responsibilities to the minor league ballclub's owners, which he said should not be overlooked. And Geoff Hinds, the general manager of the Fair, had previously stood firmly behind his team's performance and underscored that the Fair pumped nearly $500,000 into the stadium without using any taxpayer dollars during its tenure.

When the Council approved the six-month agreement with Korn and Courtney in February, city officials estimated the stadium would generate $12,000 through the term of the agreement, meaning only $18,000 would truly be drawn from the general fund.

That expense could be met and exceeded in only the first month of this new contract, depending on how much revenue the stadium and its managers can bring in.

Shea Johnson can be reached at 760-955-5368 or SJohnson@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DP_Shea.

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